Which Celebrity Version of Richard III Was the Most Iconic? (Or Accurate?)

“Shine out, fair sun, till I have bought a glass / That I may see my shadow as I pass,” says Shakespeare’s Richard III. The disfigured, devious king is probably the best-known silhouette in Shakespeare and one whose psyche has been twisted in every direction. Played by Laurence Olivier, he seemed a fairy-tale prince gone wrong, by Ian McKellen, a homegrown fascist; currently on Broadway, he is a calculating, captivating madman in the form of Mark Rylance. And now, thanks to a startling discovery under a Leicester parking lot this year, we know a little bit more about the real Richard III, who died in battle in 1485. The skeleton revealed signs of scoliosis (the “hunchback” of centuries-old drama) and multiple, weapon-inflicted wounds. In this year of Richards,Vanity Fair highlights a few from (relatively) recent times.